Vacuum storage container

ABSTRACT

A vacuum storage container includes a container body and a lid, wherein the container body has a top opening, and the lid includes a lid body and a valve plug. The lid body is removably engaged with the container body to cover the top opening to seal a peripheral edge of the top opening. The lid body has a perforation. The valve plug includes a plug body and a poked member. The plug body is disposed in the perforation and is adapted to close or to open the perforation. The poked member is disposed on a top of the plug body. In this way, a user could simply push the poked member to shift the plug body to open the perforation, which is convenient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a storage container, and moreparticularly to a vacuum storage container.

Description of Related Art

A storage container is adapted to contain food for preventing the foodfrom external dust and bacteria in order to preserve the food for alonger period of time. The conventional storage container includes acontainer body and a lid. After put the lid onto the container body, thefood in the container body is separated from an outside.

Recently, there are several kinds of vacuum storage containers on themarket. The vacuum storage container further includes a valve and avalve plug disposed on the lid, wherein air in the container body couldbe evacuated through the valve to the outside by installing and using avacuum pump onto the lid, and then the valve plug plugs into the valveto keep an interior space of the vacuum storage container at negativepressure. The food could be preserved for a longer time by reducing airin the interior space.

A conventional valve plug is integrally formed as a monolithic unit andis made of silicone, and a top portion of the valve plug exposed outsideis flat. When a user needs to release vacuum in the storage container,the user needs to pick the flat top portion of the valve plug with theuser's fingertip to open the valve. However, it's not easy to apply aforce, especially, when the top portion of the valve plug of the vacuumstorage container is wet or moist, the fingertip of the user isrelatively easy to slip off from the valve plug, so that it's hard toopen the valve.

As a result, the conventional vacuum storage container still has roomfor improvement.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention isto provide a vacuum storage container including a valve plug that couldbe easily pushed by a user.

The present invention provides a vacuum storage container including acontainer body and a lid, wherein the container body has a top opening.The lid includes a lid body and a valve plug, and the lid body isdetachably engaged with the container body to cover the top opening. Thelid body has a perforation. The valve plug comprises a plug body and apoked member. The plug body is disposed in the perforation for closingor opening the perforation; the poked member is disposed on a top of theplug body.

With the aforementioned design, by disposing the poked member on theplug body, the user could easily push the valve plug to release vacuumand to remove the lid, improving convenience of using the vacuum storagecontainer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be best understood by referring to thefollowing detailed description of some illustrative embodiments inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram, showing the vacuum storage container ofan embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded diagram of the vacuum storage container of saidembodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram, showing the valve plug of saidembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram, showing the lid of said embodiment fromthe bottom side view;

FIG. 5 is a top view, showing the vacuum storage container of saidembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the 6-6 line in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the 7-7 line in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view, showing the vacuum pump is installed on thevacuum storage container of said embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram, showing the plug body inclines when thepoked member is pushed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 9, a vacuum storage container 100 of anembodiment according to the present invention includes a container body10 and a lid 20.

The container body 10 has a storage space 10 a and a top opening 10 bwhich communicates with the storage space 10 a. Two opposite sides ofthe container body 10 extend in opposite directions to form two lockingprojections 12.

The lid 20 includes a lid body 22 and a valve plug 26, wherein the lidbody 22 is detachably engaged upon the container body 10 to cover thetop opening 10 b. Two locking members 40 are respectively disposed ontwo opposite sides of the lid body 22 locking members, and are adaptedto be engaged with the two locking projections 12 of the container body10, so that the lid 20 is firmly engaged with the container body 10 andseals a peripheral edge of the top opening 10 b. In the currentembodiment, an airtight strip 23 could be diposed on a peripheral edgeof the lid body 22 to abut against a peripheral edge of the top opening10 b of the container body 10 in order to enhance air tightness. Inpractice, the lid body 22 could directly abut against the peripheraledge of the top opening 10 b of the container body 10 as well.

The lid body 22 has a perforation 222, and the storage space 10 a of thecontainer body 10 communicates with an outside via the perforation 222.In the current embodiment, the lid body 22 has a cavity 224 which isrecessed from a top surface 22 a of the lid body 22, wherein theperforation 222 is disposed inside the cavity 224. The lid body 22 hasan internal surface 22 b facing the storage space 10 a of the containerbody 10, and has a protruding ring 24 extending in a direction away fromthe internal surface 22 b and encircling the perforation 222. An outersurface 242 of the protruding ring 24 has a plurality of protruding ribs246 which are arranged around a circumference of the outer surface 242and extends in an axial direction of the protruding ring 24, wherein aportion of each of the protruding ribs 246 extends to the internalsurface 22 b.

The valve plug 26 includes a plug body 28 and a poked member 30, whereinthe plug body 28 is disposed in the perforation 222 and is adapted toclose or to open the perforation 222. The poked member 30 is disposed ona top of the plug body 28, so that a user could poke the poked member 30to incline the plug body 28 to open the perforation 222 withoutdisengaging from the perforation 222. In the current embodiment, theplug body 28 is made of silicone, and a material of the poked member 30could be a stiffer material than the silicone, such as plastic. The plugbody 28 includes a first protruding portion 282, a second protrudingportion 284, and a connecting portion 286 connected between the firstprotruding portion 282 and the second protruding portion 284. The firstprotruding portion 282 is located outside a top edge of the perforation222, and a top surface 282 a of the first protruding portion 282 forms atop surface of the plug body 28. The connecting portion 286 passesthrough the perforation 222, and the second protruding portion 284 islocated outside a bottom edge of the perforation 222. An outer diameterof the second protruding portion 284 is smaller than an outer diameterof the first protruding portion 282. An axial length of the connectingportion 286 is greater than a depth of the perforation 222.

The poked member 30 is detachably engaged with the top of the plug body28. In the current embodiment, the top of the plug body 28 has anengaging groove 288, and the poked member 30 includes an engagingsegment 32 and an extending segment 34, wherein the engaging segment 32could be inserted into and be engaged with the engaging groove 288; theextending segment 34 is located above the engaging segment 32 and isadapted to be poked by the user. More specifically, the poked member 30is located in the cavity 224 of the lid body 22, and a top edge of theextending segment 34 of the poked member 30 is lower than a top edge ofthe cavity 224. The engaging groove 288 includes a first groove section288 a and a second groove section 288 b which communicates with thefirst groove section 288 a, wherein the first groove section 288 a isformed by recessing into the top surface of the plug body 28 and islocated above the second groove section 288 b. A width of the firstgroove section 288 a is smaller than a width of the second groovesection 288 b. The engaging segment 32 of the poked member 30 includes ahead portion 322 and a neck portion 324, wherein when the poked member30 is engaged with the plug body 28, the head portion 322 is located inthe second groove section 288 b, and the neck portion 324 is located inthe first groove section 288 a. The plug body 28 is made of silicone andis flexible, so that the head portion 322 could be wedged into thesecond groove section 288 b via the first groove section 288 a to berestricted in the second groove section 288 b.

In the current embodiment, the poked member 30 further includes aprotruding flange 36 which is connected between the engaging segment 32and the extending segment 34, wherein a bottom surface of the protrudingflange 36 faces the top surface 282 a of the first protruding portion282, and the diameter of the first protruding portion 282 is greaterthan an outer diameter of the protruding flange 36. Preferably, thebottom surface of the protruding flange 36 is abutted against the topsurface 282 a of the protruding portion 282 of the plug body 28. Theextending segment 34 is board-shaped and is located at a center portionof the protruding flange 36. The extending segment 34 is extended upwardfrom the protruding flange 36 in a first axial direction Z, and a heightof the extending segment 34 is greater than a thickness of the firstprotruding portion 282. In the current embodiment, the first axialdirection Z is an axial direction of the engaging segment 32. Theextending segment 34 has two side surfaces 342 in a second axialdirection X which is perpendicular to the first axial direction Z,wherein the two side surfaces 342 face opposite directions. In thecurrent embodiment, a distance between the two side surfaces isincreased gradually from top down in the first axial direction Z. Theprotruding flange 36 has two top surfaces 362 respectively connected tothe two side surfaces 342. Each of the two top surfaces 362 tiltsdownward in a direction away from one of the two side surfaces 342. Anangle 0 between each of the two top surfaces 362 and one of the two sidesurfaces 342 is between 90 to 105 degrees. In the current embodiment theangel 0 is 100 degrees.

Moreover, the lid 20 further includes an inner cap 42 which fits aroundthe protruding ring 24, wherein an inner surface 422 of the inner cap 42abuts against the plurality of protruding ribs 246, thereby to form agap G between the inner surface 422 of the inner cap 42 and the outersurface 242 of the protruding ring 24 and between the inner surface 422of the inner cap 42 and the internal surface 22 b of the lid body 22, sothat air could flow through.

Referring to FIG. 8, the user could install an air pump 200 on a top ofthe lid 20 for discharging air in the storage space 10 a of thecontainer body 10 through the perforation 222 of the container body 10to make it vacuum. When the storage space 10 a of the container body 10is at negative pressure, the plug body 28 is pressed by an atmosphericpressure to be moved downward to close the perforation 222 (as shown inFIG. 7). A top edge of the poked member 30 is lower than the top edge ofthe cavity 224 of the lid body 22, so that it could avoid the usertouching the poked member 30 carelessly to release vacuum.

Referring to FIG. 9, when the user wants to release vacuum, the usercould simply push one of the two side surfaces 342 of the extendingsegment 34 of the poked member 30 to shift the plug body 28, thereby toallow air in the outside to enter into the storage space 10 a of thecontainer body 10.

In conclusion, through the poked member 30 disposed on the plug body 28,the user could easily push the valve plug 26 to release vacuum and toremove the lid 20, so that convenience is enhanced.

It must be pointed out that the embodiment described above is only apreferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent structureswhich employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and theappended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacuum storage container, comprising: acontainer body having a top opening; and a lid comprising a lid body anda valve plug, wherein the lid body is detachably engaged with thecontainer body to cover the top opening; the lid body has a perforation;the valve plug comprises a plug body and a poked member; the plug bodyis disposed in the perforation for closing or opening the perforation;the poked member is disposed on a top of the plug body.
 2. The vacuumstorage container of claim 1, wherein the top of the plug body has anengaging groove; the poked member comprises an engaging segment and anextending segment, and the engaging segment is detachably engaged withthe engaging groove; the extending segment is located above the engagingsegment.
 3. The vacuum storage container of claim 2, wherein theengaging groove comprises a first groove section and a second groovesection which communicates with the first groove section; the firstgroove section is located above the second groove section; a width ofthe first groove section is smaller than a width of the second groovesection; the engaging segment of the poked member comprises a headportion and a neck portion; the head portion is located in the secondgroove section, and the neck portion is located in the first groovesection.
 4. The vacuum storage container of claim 2, wherein the pokedmember comprises a protruding flange connected between the engagingsegment and the extending segment; a bottom surface of the protrudingflange faces a top surface of the plug body.
 5. The vacuum storagecontainer of claim 4, wherein the bottom surface of the protrudingflange abuts against the top surface of the plug body.
 6. The vacuumstorage container of claim 4, wherein the plug body comprises a firstprotruding portion, a second protruding portion, and a connectingportion; the connecting portion is connected between the firstprotruding portion and the second protruding portion; the firstprotruding portion is located outside a top edge of the perforation; thetop surface of the plug body is located on the first protruding portion;the connecting portion passes through the perforation; the secondprotruding portion is located outside a bottom edge of the perforation;an outer diameter of the first protruding portion is greater than anouter diameter of the protruding flange.
 7. The vacuum storage containerof claim 4, wherein the extending segment is board-shaped and extendsupward from the protruding flange in a first axial direction; theextending segment has two side surfaces facing opposite directions in asecond axial direction which is perpendicular to the first axialdirection; the protruding flange has two top surfaces respectivelyconnected to the two side surfaces; an angle between each of the two topsurfaces 362 and one of the two side surfaces 342 is between 90 to 105degrees.
 8. The vacuum storage container of claim 7, wherein a distancebetween the two side surfaces is increased gradually from top down inthe first axial direction.
 9. The vacuum storage container of claim 1,wherein the lid body has a cavity which is formed by recessing into atop surface of the lid body; the perforation is located inside thecavity; the poked member is located in the cavity, and a top edge of thepoked member is lower than a top edge of the cavity.
 10. The vacuumstorage container of claim 1, wherein the lid body has an internalsurface facing an interior space of the container body; the internalsurface has a protruding ring extending in a direction away from theinternal surface and encircling the perforation; an outer surface of theprotruding ring has a plurality of protruding ribs; the lid comprises aninner cap which fits around the protruding ring, and an inner surface ofthe inner cap abuts against the plurality of protruding ribs, so that agap is formed between the inner surface of the inner cap and the outersurface of the protruding ring.